Seasonal, Sustainable, Delicious

Category Archives: Bread

Well, first of all, I think I may need to change the tagline on my blog from seasonal, sustainable, delicious to carbs! carbs! carbs! Friends, I am your carb queen with a smattering of seasonal goodness. It should be the other way around I know…..but whatever that gap is between knowing what you should do and doing it, well, I’m not making the leap. Energy ebbs and flows with me during these hot days. And they are all hot.

As of right now, I’m making pao de queijo for the second time in three days. And I’ve made it countless times before and I tinker with the recipe each time. I’ve been pouring through Brazilian cookbooks but most importantly I’ve been talking with Luiza, my Brazilian friend and she gave her wholehearted stamp of approval on these little breads. Continue reading →

I’m excited today! I’m excited as a baker and as a friend. I’ve been looking forward to the release of Bread, Toast, Crumbs for over a year now. The author, Alexandra Stafford, is a fantastic baker, cook, and friend. I first “met” her through her blog Alexandra’s Kitchen when I would write her with questions regarding recipes – usually pie crust. Normally, asking a question out into the ethers of the internet will get you nowhere and then you need to Google your question. But not Ali. Ali is someone who truly wants you to succeed in the kitchen. That pie crust question that introduced me to her? I can now make delicious pie crusts – and much easier than how they’re normally made. There’s not one aspect of cookery that stymies her. She’s been to cooking school, worked in restaurants, and has done the hard work. She shares it all with her readers. She makes us better cooks.

It was through our chatting about recipes that she asked me if I would test a few for her book. “Heck yeah!” was my response. Ali is known for her peasant bread, which is actually her mom, Elizabeth Lowry’s, recipe. But, as any Yale graduate who goes off to cooking school tends to do, Alexandra took the recipe in many delicious directions. There’s now a peasant bread to suite every mood, every whim, every diet, and every season.

When I was testing these loaves my mother in law was in town and she ate an entire loaf on her own. It’s very easy to do! And now that she’s returning to visit I’m making them again. It’s one of the few things she requested of me. They really are that good. Continue reading →